Monday, January 19, 2015

Frostfire by Amanda Hocking ARC/Audiobook Review

Bryn
Aven is an outcast among the Kanin, the most powerful of the troll
tribes. Set apart by her heritage and her past, Brynn is a tracker who's
determined to become a respected part of her world. She has just one
goal: become a member of the elite King’s Guard to protect the royalty.
She's not going to let anything stand in her way, not even a forbidden
romance with her boss Ridley Dresden. But all her plans for the future
are put on hold when Konstantin– a fallen hero who she once loved –
appears to be up to something dangerous, kidnapping changelings. Bryn is
sent in to help stop him, but will she lose her heart in the process?

I've been so eager to read FROSTFIRE since I seen the amazing cover last
year and fell madly in love with it. And the rest of the series covers
are just as amazing, if not better!! And when I received my ARC for
review, I nearly jumped for joy at it's awesomeness!!

But
honestly, I may have had my exceptions a little too high. I read
Hocking's Zombie series and absolutely LOVED it. So I guess I may have
set my standards to those same exceptions, because it wasn't as good as I
hoped, and it ended without giving too much incite on the plot and the
reasoning behind the plot of the story. But nevertheless, FROSTFIRE was
still enjoyable and totally an engaging read, that I was quickly
entangled with and didn't want to put down once I was ensnared.

Let me elaborate...

I
loved the world building. The plot of the story was alluring and
absolutely appealing. But the pacing and lack of depth didn't back up
the story to the full worth of the plot. It had some plot holes, and not
enough info to back it all up. It felt like it dragged a bit from time
to time, and then their wasn't enough answers to support the full drama
and mystery that made this story. And by the end of the book we still
don't get answers to why things that happened in the book happened. And
that was a little irritating because I desperately wanted to know WHY???

THE PLOT

Bryn just wants to be normal, fit in with the
same people she's pledged her allegiance too. She's an outcast among the
Kanin tribe. Always has been and always will be if she doesn't do
something to change it.

Her dream is to become a Hogdragen, one
of the finest guards the Kanin has to offer. But since she's half
Skojare and half Kanin, she's considered to be the lesser of the
full-breed Kanin. But Bryn has never let that stop her from trying, and
she's not about to start now!

So Bryn is determined to work her
way up the ranks, starting with being a Tracker, tracking the
Changelings and convincing them it's time to return home to their Kanin
heritage. Thanks to her boss and good friend Ridley, he keeps her on a
narrow path, reminding her that she is in fact something special, no
matter what her race is. But it's getting harder and harder to deny the
feelings she has for him. The rush she feels when he's around. The
overpowering desire her body convulses with when he's close. But it's a
dangerous, forbidden game she's playing here, and she may just be the
one to get burnt.

But there is something that haunts Bryn's
dreams, something that almost destroyed her world, something that's come
back to finish the job...

Four years ago, a fallen hero named
Konstantin went from being the most admired man, to the most hated in a
matter a minutes. He crossed a line that not even Bryn, who has secretly
been in love with him can forgive. Mater of fact, the betrayal hits
more home to her family then any other Kanins, and she's determined to
understand the reasoning behind his actions, and then see him put to
justice for the crimes he's committed against her, her family, the
kingdom, and the Changelings once and for all.

But Bryn's dreams
to rise the ranks and become a Hogdragen have to get put on hold when
her nightmares literally come true. The Kanin traitor and wanted
fugitive Konstantin has resurfaced after four years, and is picking
their Changelings off one by one. Bryn and the rest of the trackers are
unsure of his true motives and who else is really behind it all. But one
thing is for certain, he must be stopped, and she is determined to find
him and put an end to it once and for all.

But as Bryn digs
deeper into these kidnappings, something is telling her theirs more to
the story then she once thought. Someone is sitting back in the shadows
pulling the strings, but who, and why? And Konstantin was one of the
Kanin's greatest Hogdragen in their history, so why was he so quickly
willing to throw it all a way for what seems like nothing?

It
all makes no sense, but Bryn is out for answers—answers that seem to
only create more questions. Bryn is willing to go to great lengths to
reveal that truth behind the kidnappings and who's really behind them.
But from the beginning the puzzles didn't seem to fit, and now more then
ever, the pieces are starting to come together. But before all is said
and done, the truth might bring the kingdoms to their knees...

Overall,
even with the lack of development and explanation, I still enjoyed it, a
lot! I'm looking forward to continuing this series and seeing how it
all plays out, and hopefully getting the answers that I desperately
seek!! If you love books with magical worlds, built around tough, driven
characters, with determination to survive, then you should definitely
check out FROSTFIRE!!!

**AUDIOBOOK IMPRESSIONS**

I really enjoyed the narration of FROSTFIRE. The narrator, Eileen Stevens
was well suited for this type of story. Her voice and acting portrayed a
teenagers, and fit well with the plot. Her performance blended the
right sounds, stops and pauses just at the right time. The emotional
feel Eileen radiated with her voice allowed me to experience the
characters feelings in overdrive! It's a wonderful feeling to have a
narrator put you in the characters shoes with her define and alluring
narration!! I will definitely listen to more books by this narrator in
the future!!

NOTE: I received a Physical ARC from St. Martin's
Griffin & a audiobook from audible for reviewing purposes! All
opinions express are my own and are not influenced in any way!

4 BONE HEARTS

I live in Minnesota, and I write young adult paranormal romance and urban fantasy mostly. The My Blood Approves series is about vampires in Minneapolis, and its available now. I also wrote the Trylle Trilogy, which is a paranormal romance without vampires, shifters, mermaids, fae, angels, dragons, ghosts, or ninjas.

My latest book is Hollowland -
a zombie urban fantasy set in the dystopian near future. It's a bit
more violent and gritter than my other books, but there is still
romance. Mostly though, Remy kicks a lot of butt.

I also enjoy
Red Bull, Jim Henson, Batman, Jane Austen, Star Wars legos, and I
absolutely hate long walks on the beach out of my intense fear/hatred of
wet sand.

I'm also the guitarist in a band called the Fraggin
Aardvarks, and even though its even twice as cool as it sounds, we
haven't had a practice in like two years, so I'm not sure that
technically we are still a band. But we never broke up, and it's an
awesome thing to tell people, so I'm sticking with it. (We even had a
synethesizer!)

I haven't read anything by this author yet, although I did try with one of her books and it didn't go well. When I saw the cover for this book, it definitely caught my attention and the book sounds really good. But I have to admit that I am hesitant with this one. After reading your review, it sounds like it is a book I should at least try. I may not love it, but it might be a great read, too!

I've heard a bit about this series, but was on the fence about adding it to my TBR. This was a great review! I liked that you reviewed both formats. I am just getting in to audio books and am always looking for good narrators. Unfitting narrators is what turned me off to audio books in the first place. So perhaps I will get this in audio format!

Thanks so much for the review. I didn't enjoy the first book in the Trylle series, and I'm not sure this one is right for me either. However, I had no idea she'd written a zombie series! I'll have to check that one out.

I've just started listening to audio books. I make a weekly trip (about a 3 hour drive) by myself to see my grand-baby and have found audio books an awesome way to pass the time. A good narrator makes all the difference in the enjoyment factor

I've wanted to read this book too. I'm wondering if perhaps it didn't explain much because it is a spin-off (sort of) of her Trylle Trilogy. I'm just guessing but perhaps that's why. I'm definitely interested to read it now to see if that is the case. Thanks for the review.

This book is in my TBR pile (the cover enticed me too). Now I'm thinking of holding off until August to read it, so I can read the trilogy all at once. Since you say its enjoyable, but not awesome, I don't mind waiting 4-5 months to read it now.

December & Janaury's Reviews

November's Reviews

August's Reviews

October's Reviews

September's Reviews

Up Coming Reviews

Hits All Around The Globe

See What I'm Up To On Goodreads

Addicted Readers Is On Instagram

Tour Stops Here June 29th

Tour Stops Here September 29th

Disclaimer

Addicted Readers receives ARC's (Advanced Reader Copies) from authors and publishers in exchange for an honest review. No compensation of any kind is exchanged. And every opinion express is my own and is not influenced in any way.